


each and every sunrise (or sunset)

by madameandromeda



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Also Yennefer swears a lot, Canon Divergence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst with a Happy Ending, Mutual Pining, They both say 'please' in crucial moments, Travels, Yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madameandromeda/pseuds/madameandromeda
Summary: During their travel around the continent, Tissaia and Yennefer conducted a search for a specific flower that would cure the effects of dimeritium logged in mages' bodies. And in amidst of all this, Yennefer ends up finding herself admiring the sublime way that the sun molds the petite figure of her mentor – in more than a simple platonic way. No matter how much she tries to suppress it.Revelations and harsh choices, however, would prove to be a constancy in the path traced by the two mages.
Relationships: Tissaia de Vries/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43
Collections: The Witcher Secret Santa 2020





	each and every sunrise (or sunset)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RiverStyxGoddess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverStyxGoddess/gifts).



> English isn’t my first language, so I apologize for any incongruity.
> 
> As part of the Witcher Secret Santa, this is for riverstyxgoddess, whose fanarts are already an marvelous gifts to this world. I wrote her prompt: "Yennaia take a trip somewhere! – showverse or AU". Hopefully I could fit this fic under her wish at my best capacity.
> 
> I will be wishing a very lovely Christmas and a comfy New Year’s to everyone that reads this. ♡ ~

“ _Love shook my heart_

_Like the wind on the mountain_

_rushing over the oak trees_.”

― Sappho.

Yennefer got herself lost in tameless thoughts about how unique was the act of sharing the change of a season in the company of the Rectoress of Aretuza. It was a peaceful instant to compensate all the adversities resting on their backs.

Over the course of extended days and short nights, the scorching summer sun descended until the mild heat of autumn merged into the atmosphere – granting then a picturesque to the place they currently were executing their yet inconclusive search.

Up there at a colossal mountain high was more greenish than most of the realms they had visited before since the beginning of this journey. But now, a livid hazy orange coruscates above the leaves falling from oak trees or flying along the windy currents. Nature in its most dignified expression reigned beyond human interference in such distinct environment.

The eminent contrast of that tepid ambiance shocked Yennefer unexpectedly after she had spent months under the gelid temperatures of the Isles of Skellige. Her senses barely could properly process the heat embracing in her exposed skin.

Tissaia had led their route with impeccable legerity. Always the perfectionist, she managed to trace gracious shortcuts in order to minimize unfortunate events present on their path. Centuries of studies had led the archmistress close to reach a point of deduction, but the dimeritium fixated in her body conveyed her the final answer to a puzzle. All the pieces came to overglow her mind and the formula of a potion capable demising the effects of dimeritium on mage’s bodies was concretized.

Her discovery would become a milestone for the sorceresses’ survival against any subsequent acquisitions; in addition, it would save them all for the rest of the particular war on going at the moment. After Sodden, the losses of that disastrous battle came to reside in the shadows of every act they took. Especially upon Tissaia’s heavy frame.

Yennefer had survived the devastating effects of the violent fire magic she had launched against the nilfgaardians tropes and soon after her recovery, Tissaia requested her help for the search.

The archmistress never explained why she exactly asked for Yennefer to accompany her. And Yennefer didn't pressure on the matter at hand. All it took for her to be convinced was a soft plead pronouncing the request that soften her during the most arctic nights they had traveled so far.

“ _Please, Yennefer. I only need you for this_.”

Those words were more than enough. Powerful enough to convince her to go to the deepest levels of hell to assist the woman who uttered them, even if it was, nevertheless, a herculean effort to even consider revealing it to anyone other than herself.

In midst of long walks and brief portals that were severely reduced in order to save up magic – as well as covering their trails – Yennefer came to value each silent instance because it allowed her to process the whirlwind of feelings prowling around her whenever she captured the most ephemeral details of Tissaia's countenance.

The rare occurrences where they were walking and Yennefer stood behind her, able to perfectly contemplate the other sorceress as the sun set in her body – as if she could absorb the light at her surroundings. And the gracious way the solar energy radiated the determination sculpting her ambiguous stoic facet.

“We’re almost there.” Tissaia announced.

As they reached the Toussaint border, they moved to a cabin that Tissaia had constructed and organized for her previous searching travels some centuries ago.

Soon after the archmistress pronounced the proximity of their destination, a well-hidden woody cabin appears on the slope of the side mountain they were hiking. Subsequently, once they entered the place, Yennefer contemplated her time to absorb her surroundings.

The modest cabin was suitable to accommodate the two sorceresses, the wooden floor and the pure oak walls retained a comforting charm. Plants of different foliage could be found both on the floor and on higher altitudes in each room, but above all, the leaves of lemongrass and rosemary that were distributed in the tiny space of the kitchen that contained a stone oven next to a countertop and an old kettle were capable of to bring a contrast between forested and homey.

Everything seemed suitable enough for their temporary stay on the enclosure. Except for the detail of a single bed with two white pillows and a solely silk blanket.

“It is modest, but function. Giving the current circumstances it’s best that we don’t altered it too much with magic. After all, we will be staying here for the weekend.”

When Tissaia considered her statement, Yennefer pulled away from the wall where she was propped against during her contemplation to walk over to the bed. Thereafter, she took one of the pillows resting on small framed the mattress.

“What are you doing?”

As if it had come out of a reflective trance Tissaia undid her contemplative position to monitor the actions of Yennefer mindfully.

Feeling Tissaia's aquamarine eyes following her so attentively had made Yennefer's heart burn with unrestrained longing, but the casual manner that she manifested didn't revealed this at all. The hidden corners of her disquieting attraction and her disquieting feelings for the other woman was kept locked in her ribcage.

“I’m already tired from all the hiking and since we had eaten before, I need my beauty sleep. Why?” When she came to swallow discreetly in the same instance where Tissaia had occupied her personal space, Yennefer tried to keep her voice steady to compensate for the rapid pulsations running through her torrid bloodstream.

“Foolish girl.” Tissaia countered as she removed the pillow that Yennefer had collected from her possession unceremoniously. “I understand that the arrangements aren’t the most pleasant for your usual glamorous taste. But even though the bed is small, I see no reason why the two of us can't share it for a few nights.”

“ _Oh_.”

A shock came to overcome her elaborated reactions. Tissaia's decision was unusual, especially taking into account that during course of the entire period they traveled through Skellige, they never actually shared in the same room for sleeping.

But a decisive firmness was carved in the older woman's gaze, as if she didn't even want to repeat herself or be contradicted in any way. So, Yennefer allowed to give in to the unexpected circumstances – to give into unspoken temptations.

Ever since she was younger, she had always had an infinite curiosity to behold Tissaia in her most trivial and mundane moments. At first, it was out of admiration interspersed with the graceful and meticulous gestures that the Rectoress of Aretuza's exercised in all her activities. The sense of self-control so well endorsed by her powerful chaos was too formidable to be ignored.

But over time, Yennefer began to glimpse Tissaia with eager attention. Every time she saw the archmistress moving around in her high collar, regal dresses that accentuated the contours of her body, it was as if Yennefer's violet eyes tried to penetrate beyond the optics of the fabrics that incorporate the older woman.

The eminent attraction was formed in abstract ways, and it was something as uncontrollable as the chaos itself installed in her veins.

As the night went by and after changing clothes separately to soon settle on different sides of the bed, both of them felt the heated tension and the peculiar strangeness coming from the proximity of their backs sharing the same space.

The younger mage had already shared a bed with countless people over the years. But she never before has the overwhelming thrill of pure craving manifested itself so deeply under her core. Not only did she want Tissaia, she ached for her – every sunrise and every sunset brought her aggravating certainty that this feeling would never wear out, it would only intensify like the consuming flames of the blazing sun.

However, the waning moon located in the dark skies contributed to safeguarding the magnitude of her desires, while it also followed her during the most delightful rest she had ever had.

~

When Yennefer woke up, the soft rays of concentrated sunlight that escaped through the window curtain gently warmed her skin in an invigorating manner. As her languid eyes adjusted to the light of day, her first view made her heart palpate and her entire body to shiver.

The aroma of myrrh incense and chamomile tea merged with the slender sight of Tissaia’s body enveloped by a deep emerald sleeping robe. And the loose, brownish curls cascaded in her shoulders gave the archmistress a cozy appearance. Something that Yennefer had never seen on her before.

Even if the other woman still had the same enigmatic face as always while she slowly drank her tea in between a very focused reading in a hardcover search book, placed in front of the small table in front of the bed they shared, the feeling that encompassed Yennefer was the sense of calmness and belonging.

“The flower will appear soon. At the riverside nearby.” Tissaia’s voice manifested at the same time that she turned the page of her book. Her delicate fingers strummed the lines with deep attention to each word she could possibly digest from the text under her seemingly impeccable analysis.

“It will be today?” Yennefer questioned while she stretched her arms in a futile attempt of deflecting her focus off Tissaia for a bit. The casual presence emanated by that irresistible woman proved to be more overwhelming than the profound sensation of staring longingly at the sun for too long. Each day accentuated that feeling a little more.

“It will be tomorrow, at sunset.” The archmistress responded and another sip of her tea was drunk up shortly after that.

A brief comfortable silence settled in the air. A gentle gale brought the comforting scent of fresh grass into the room as the myrrh incense had been extinguished. Yennefer went to the cabin's small kitchen and helped herself with some tea, bread and fruits on the counter near the table where Tissaia was allocated.

Suddenly, the realization that this was the last day she would spend traveling with Tissaia under the pretext of collecting the potion flower weighed on her. When Yennefer finished sipping her tea, an uncontrollable urge had guided her to propose something unusual.

“Since we finally have a free day to spare, we can at least try to do something relaxing together for a change.”

Tissaia turned her gaze from her book for the first time that day and raised her eyebrows to face the younger mage.

Yennefer was never intimidated by the seriousness that Tissaia displayed so often. The hardness marbled in her features was a well-designed mask to hide the existing depth in her intensity-laden eyes, so well condensed by her vivid chaos – their vulnerable connection stablished in Sodden remained as a tangible proof of this fact.

All Yennefer wanted was to challenge Tissaia to her limits, to feel her most authentic version and to unravel her completely. In every discussion or short exchange of dialogue, this was the unstoppable urge that moved her most to act.

“What would you consider relaxing?” Skeptical, Tissaia inquired. A hit of pure curiosity escaped from her voice – a minor detail that didn't escape Yennefer's intuitive perception.

“Anything other than reading a book that I’m reasonably sure you already read twice during all these months we have been traveling.”

The witty contestation brought a serene smile to rest upon Tissaia’s lips. And Yennefer wouldn’t help, but her fingers began tracing patterns in her tea cup in a practice of restraint while imagining feeling the archmistress’ smile under her touch.

“I wouldn’t abandon my book, if that’s what you are suggesting.” Tissaia demarcated at the same time she got up from her seat. “But a change of location would be appreciated. Let's enjoy a picnic. We will search for a wine of your choice. I will arrange the rest of the food. Furthermore, we can be by the river and you can relax as much as you wish while I continue my incessant reading without your pernicious interruptions.”

Yennefer approached the older woman and her keen perception didn't missed a beat for the graceful way that Tissaia raised her prominent chin in fierce defiance. All the while, the archmistress' hands were glued to the book placed on the table as a solid exercise of self-control.

“We will see about that, Rectoress.”

In midst prolonged exchanged gazes and the playful malice presented in their interaction – Yennefer felt more mirthful than ever. And the sensation that elevated her joy was the expectation of Tissaia feeling that same tender contentment.

~

The tepid winds provided a pleasant climate for walking and it accompanied both sorceresses as they made their way to the center of Toussaint, where Yennefer knew exactly which wine to select for the best use of the single day of relaxation that she would have along with the quite reluctant archmistress.

When they found Yennefer’s favorite shop for wine, immediately the younger mage collected it and made Tissaia have an appetizer to determine if it was satisfactory for her refine appetite. As she took hold of a shallow wine glass, Tissaia then proved the sweet nectar melting in her throat and warming her from inside out.

Distracted by the exquisite taste, she almost sensed when a single drop of the ruby liquid slipped from her glass and slowly slid down her chin. But Yennefer wasn’t able to look away.

As Tissaia felt the drop slipping from her lips, she pushed the glass away from her mouth to clean herself. However, not containing her impulses, Yennefer took her attentive finger to wipe the drop from the older woman's soft skin in her place. Before completely removing her touch from Tissaia, Yennefer gently stroked her chin, absorbing the sensation of resting her fingertips.

And she relished the interspersed power this simple gesture had in bringing a palpable tension in the air located around them. Yennefer sensed Tissaia's eyes darkened as they emanated a tangible desire and even her slow, heavy breathing indicated an explicit longing to receive more of Yennefer's touch.

It was only for a fragment of second, but it was tangible enough.

The period after that happened passed with a serenity with only traces of the tension installed in the atmosphere watered by wine and elevated by the hidden passion.

As soon as they obtained the food that Tissaia said she would take, they moved to the river's edge and executed the arrangements for a very improvised picnic. The towel they used to lie on was satin and the feel of it on the grass was exuberant. The straw basket contained fresh fruit, stuffed breads, some artisanal sandwiches and, of course, the rest of the wine.

At first, they tasted their food in silence. Yennefer remained relaxed under the shadows of the tree that sheltered her and Tissaia returned her attention to her book.

But that tranquility ended up way too soon as they resigned to talk.

They talked about the books Tissaia wrote and the ones she intended to write, they fought intellectual debates in and many provocations occurred in between those argues. And time went by with a characteristic speed when lovers that are in the company of each other tend to not feel of the day's transition.

When the sun was about to set, Yennefer had challenged Tissaia to go swimming with her in the lake. Tissaia promptly refused, yet after Yennefer removed her clothes without a single care for her exposed figure, Tissaia she felt her breath catch in the back of her throat, and the overwhelmed desire had made her impulsive and impeded.

Meanwhile, Yennefer smirked at Tissaia's burning gaze on her naked body, and with no concern for her indecent behavior, she made the decision to push Tissaia a bit further by hurling splashes of water at the archmistress.

This was what made the older mage to finally react.

Slowly, Tissaia rose herself from the floor and without taking her eyes out of Yennefer, she removed her robes to only maintain her silk nightgown and as her feet reached the cold waters of the river, immediately she casted a small water bubble to collide against the provocative woman that was always challenging her to the absurd.

They remained throwing water at one another in several different ways until tiredness overcame their bodies. The water of the afternoon had a warmer temperature and both ended up resting floating on the margins of the calm river without any concern to drift by their minds.

Together, they saw sun being replaced by the waning moon as they remained laid upon the clear waters. And as soon as the stars shone and the fireflies surrounded the area where they were, both came to dress properly and returned to their cabin.

Yennefer went straight for a hot bath in the tub surrounded by roses of the crucible bathroom arranged by the cabin, and there she couldn't stop thinking about Tissaia's wet body just covered by that thin fabric nightgown. Her mind wandered into repressed desires and cravings – and also, she cherished every second spent alongside the only person she wished to shared all of days with.

A wave of emotions almost drowned her.

And the raw realization that she was so deeply in love with her former mentor began to be too overwhelming to bear alone. Her entire structure seemed to dismantle with the waters, and Yennefer barely knew how she would cope when her path had would be separated from Tissaia again.

When she finished her bath and came back to sit on the side of the bed where she occupied, she saw Tissaia sitting close to the dinner table. Resting in her petite fingers was a smoking pipe, at right shoulder side laid a very tidy braid that exposed the volume of glorious chestnut hair that she normally kept fixed in her neat bun. And of course, by her left side, there was the book that she still kept her attentive reading.

Tissaia’s gaze so enraptured in that book it heated up Yennefer's heart with an overwhelming force that made her need to take a deep breath in order not to go and hold Tissaia's face in her hands and kiss her with everything she had inside.

The unnameable, the vast, yet so discreet – _love_ that she carried with her wherever she went. Love that she had for the one whom saved her and for whom she so longed to receive the same attention that that book received at such an instant.

That night had been worse than the last. They still slept side by side, back to back. But Yennefer was restless, and she turned to face Tissaia's sleeping face. Resting on the pillow and breathing softly against her relaxed heartbeat, the arch-magician looked harmless and so youthful from that perspective.

Yennefer's gaze then lowered to check the scarred-cut wrists that were under the pillow Tissaia was leaning on. Yennefer felt a sharp pain in her heart as she compared those scars of Tissaia with her own scars – the ones that Tissaia had remedied and kept anchored in this world.

With her wrists close and her scars placed side by side, Yennefer felt the echo of Tissaia's voice telling her the words she had never forgotten in one of the first interactions they had: “ _There are mages who ignore their emotions. And there are mages such as the two of us who are consumed by them._ ”

Then, Yennefer almost reached to hold Tissaia's delicate hand. However, she contained herself. Allowing the sleep to absorb her senses while the image of Tissaia's serene face remained stuck in her mind, holding it tight was a precious memory to keep for centuries to come.

~

The sun rises up as usual, just as it always did.

Tissaia wakes up sensing the emptiness present on the other side of the small bed she shared with Yennefer, even before she even awakened. It was as if her instincts had already perfectly memorized the weight and warmth of the other woman's body – making the young sorceress's absence far stronger than her own state of sleep.

“Someone looks grumpy.” Yennefer said jubilantly. Her aura of exhilaration hadn’t been extinguished after the day they had had yesterday. Her raven-hair was tied in an untidy bun and her violet robe matched the shade of her exceptionally fulgent eyes.

Tissaia got up from the bed to sit in a more upright posture and she kept checking the younger woman leaning against the kitchen counter. Yennefer's warm presence in her life was more dangerous and addictive. Her inner battle to prevent from being unraveled by that underlying yearning was fought at a much higher acuteness than ever before. Nevertheless, she persisted in keeping her heart on hidden away.

Unfortunately, she wasn't immune to alluring visions.

The slow, thoughtful way that Yennefer drank her tea was too mesmerizing, so much so that it had made Tissaia slow down and take too long to respond.

“I believe that being constantly alert is not a good way to manage a good night's sleep. That's all.” Tissaia managed to eluded as she weakly looked away as if she had spent too much time looking at the sun at its brightest peak.

Her chest ignited from the heat lodged in her stimulated senses, but it was her raised breathing patterns that seemed to caught the eye of the observant younger mage.

“You don’t need to be always on the edge, Tissaia.” Yennefer expressed as she approached the tense woman sitting on the bed.

While Tissaia had looked away, the younger sorceress had prepared a cup of tea to serve her. The tender gesture brought a composed smile to Tissaia's semblance, mainly because of the small detail that was exactly the measure that she would have put for herself.

After Tissaia silently thanked the tea and started drinking it, Yennefer continued what she was saying. “Yesterday is solid proof that you are capable of relaxing.”

“Well, _today_ is not up for relaxation.” The weight of her decisions, the formula for the potion and the turbulence of her feelings made her transborder with anxiety. Her fingers ended up squeezing the cup of tea with unnecessary force in search of comfort, in search to calibrate her chaos for less destructive means.

Control over her emotions was her guiding her north. Losing it was worse than death itself. Since she was a little girl, the most powerful evolution that could constitute outside of self-control above anything. That is why when her feelings for Yennefer started to awaken a while before she left Aretuza, Tissaia had to exercise greater restraint than she had in any other activity in her life until then.

A simple seductive gaze from Yennefer was capable of causing her to crumble inside, and it reached a point that even the distance wasn't able to alleviate this burning urge to reveal herself to the younger mage. She could stay in control a little longer, even though the image of Yennefer's body bathed in river water was still embedded in her retinas.

“I’m aware. But still, we can do something to ease up your nerves a bit.”

Yennefer’s ideas usually had a constructive basis for what could ease unrestrained tensions, so she tried her best to be open-minded.

“Let's do horse race to the river.” The younger mage suggested, defiantly.

A broken laugh escaped Tissaia without her being able to contain herself. And her eyebrow arched in disbelief as she faced the other sorceress who stood a tough, inflexible stance with her hands resting on her slender waist.

“Aren’t you full of surprises?” Tissaia said in a teasing tone, meanwhile, her mocking smile was fixed on her now more soften features.

“What? Are you afraid of losing?”

Yennefer's changeling tone was permanent and contagious. Tissaia never had been someone capable of giving in to superfluous pressures, but her instincts were sharpened by the mere presence of the younger mage.

Which was the only thing that drove her to consider such peculiar proposal – so she relented. “We will see about that.”

As soon as they summoned their horses, they both positioned themselves side by side to take the necessary distance from a fair start. At the sound of the count, Yennefer managed to leverage her horse with stupendous speed. Tissaia managed to reach her to a certain extent, she led her own horse with moderate and well-articulated momentum. Her hands tightened on the driving handle too tightly and her eyes tried at all costs to find the point of arrival on the riverside.

The curves and descents from the mountain to the river course were challenging to maintain a balance between continuous speed and caution to avoid an accident. Yennefer was formidable in the way she knew how to deal with path variations. And even though Tissaia was always close and never far behind, her cautious efforts didn’t matter at the end, Yennefer's strength of the empirical nature overcame her in this circumstance and there was no denying the other woman's phenomenal horse racing skills.

“Who would ever thought that the Great Tissaia de Vries could lose at horse race?” Yennefer’s humility was abstained in the face of teasing Tissaia for the outcome of the race. Her smug smirk was as attractive as it was pretentious.

“I just tend to use my energies for more productive endeavors.” Refusing to bow her head even in the face of defeat, Tissaia replied.

“Don’t be such a sore loser, you don’t have to excel at everything.” Yennefer's provocative voice was becoming softer as the euphoria of victory evaporated.

After a few more shared gazes, the two sorceresses got off their horses at the same instant and both of them went in direction the concentrated energy point that seemed to denoted where the flower would arise.

However, something else drew attention to the ambiance.

From the sunset sky, a skylark bird fell until it reached the surface right in front of Tissaia.

She bends down to take care of the animal patiently. The bird's vital signs were almost permanently weakened by the fall. Immediately, she was able to identify that he was trying to fly beyond his limits because he was already injured. And before she could contain herself, she came to utter the fragile creature in her hands.

"Idiotic and insolent animal”.

Except that insulting him, Tissaia tried to concentrate his weakened energies to restore the bird's vitality with everything inside. Trying to shelter him in her palm, she managed to realize that the reason why he flew so desperately was the anticipation of a storm that was already about to take over the skies and he was merely trying to reach his companions.

The same desperation that the bird felt for survival suddenly passed on to Tissaia, but she wasn’t able properly heal him because the effects of demetrium still deteriorating her magic. Sensing the despair corroding the archmistress, Yennefer bended as well and moved her hands to hold Tissaia’s and the bird – this way, she passed her chaos to merged with Tissaia’s intentions, bringing the skylark back to good health.

When the bird was freed from their united hands, a smile came over Tissaia's face and she had looked at Yennefer with the greatness gratitude. There was an almost youthful purity to focus on Tissaia's eyes there, in that single moment. And Yennefer had given the older mage's hands a gentle affection before separating them from her touch.

From there where them stood, the magical flower had blossomed out the ground right beside the river alongside with the storm that the bird had anticipated. A seemingly endless gale seemed to take hold of the skies, and Yennefer could not help feeling an inexplicable apprehension since the instant that tense, black flower had been birth.

And the tremor that had haunted her materialized when she noticed Tissaia moving away from her and removing her leather gloves as she toss them to the ground. She also removed her boots and her signature Aretuza’s necklace.

"What are you doing?"

Yennefer's question was answered more by the empty look transfixed on Tissaia's face than by her words. The archmistress' dim chaos was still palpable, and the heightened tension in it was consistent with the black flower's state of benevolence.

“You realize by now that this is not just any flower, do you? Therefore, it cannot be collected in the traditional way. It can only be collected by someone who grants absolute surrender – body and soul.”

Tissaia, now barefoot and with her body free from the ties of her belongings that fixed her to the physical realm, she became eligible to achieve accomplish her destiny.

“Wait, does that mean...” Yennefer overflowed with desperation, she ended up feeling her voice crack as she began to realize everything what was about to happen. “Is that why you convinced me to accompany you on this trip? For me to watch you kill yourself over a fucking potion?!”

“I called you here because I trust you more than anyone else, I need you to get this flower along with formula for the potion and to take it to anyone at Aretuza. I believe you will make the difficult choice no matter the consequences.” The heightened sense of responsibility and the longing to fulfill a greater purpose since Sodden overwhelmed her. Tissaia felt guilty about everything she did, she wanted to compensate for all the mages who lost their lives for Nilfgaardian troops. The potion was her legacy, and Yennefer was the only person who could understand it; however reluctant the young mage could act.

“Well, you’re full of shit and also wrong. I will not accept this!”

“There is no other way, Yennefer. The only way to obtain the complete potion, which I spent a good part of my life trying to decipher, is by giving my life for that last part of the potion that will change the resilience of the remaining mages against any threats.”

“But what about you?” Yennefer wanted to say, “ _What about us?_ ” but the words could not be uttered through her heavy throat. Her whole chest ached and an abrupt rage wanted to interrogate and stop the archmistress from making that final decision.

Her body was shaking at the prospect of losing the most precious person in her life. Until Tissaia closed their distance by touching her face with a colossal endearment.

Yennefer wondered how Tissaia could look so calm when making such an abrupt decision, until she remembered the scars on Tissaia's wrists. Her labored breathing and untamed regret almost made her cry out in despair for the worst.

“I wouldn't let that happen.”

As she came to declare those words, Tissaia approached her and closed the distance between their faces by standing on tiptoe and touching their foreheads in an erasing gesture. Delicate hands began to caress Yennefer's face, the path of tender caresses lead the way until it stroked the back of Yennefer's neck to keep a hold them of their intimate conjunction. Softly and closely, she managed to confess.

“But my dear girl, you were right all along. Aretuza is all I have. My purpose is to protect what little remains of that intuition, to protect all those girls that bleed and forge themselves to survive in this world. This is all I have left to give.”

Tissaia's soothing voice in that proximity was able to tame Yennefer's heavy nerves in a mesmerizing way. For a moment, she almost felt the ghost of Tissaia's lips almost touching hers. But instead, the icy emptiness and raindrops occupied the space formerly filled by her beloved.

“No, Tissaia, no!”

Yennefer immediately got rid of her ecstatic state at the same moment that Tissaia distanced herself and as her fingers were placed upon the vicious flower, the river close to them opened wide enough swallow the body of the archmistress with an immediate ferocity.

Without any regard for the consequences, Yennefer threw herself into the deep currents of the river – her mind was blanket with the solely desire to rescue Tissaia. The strokes of her dive were visceral and broader than any other action she had done in her entire existence.

Still, Tissaia's body fell with worrying speed, and the younger mage had to used her chaos to propel her swim to reach her. From the depth of the water, Tissaia's voice mentally echoed over her:

" _Leave me here_.”

Enraged by the archmistress’ withdrawal, Yennefer countered without knowing how to control her emotions that consumed her and overflowed her at that critical moment.

“ _Fuck you, Tissaia_!” The distance between the fall of Tissaia's body in the depth of the river and Yennefer's slow attempt was agonizing. All the things that weren't said and that were stocked in Yennefer's throat now seemed to pass through her mind without any filter, and the mental connection she had with Tissaia delivered these confessions more sincerely than ever. “Don’t leave me like this. I love you, so, so much… _Please_.”

The confession impregnated Tissaia's soul and made her reply emaciated, while the water filled her lungs.

“ _Yenna_ ,” Sore for the presser of the consuming waters, but still, moved by the words of the younger mage who loved her so much as she tried to avoid this feeling – Tissaia revealed at the very moment that she succumbed to unconsciousness. “You have no idea how much you are loved. How I wish I knew your feelings much sooner.”

Tissaia's revelation of love had made Yennefer go beyond the dense layers of water to finally reach the unconscious woman's imprisoned body. Yennefer tried at all costs to call her mentally, but it was unsuccessful.

Afflicted and at the same time, convict, she used the same energy that both of them utilized to save the bird,

The junction of their chaos had made them once more powerful and the absolute surrender that Yennefer had given the flower to avoid consuming Tissaia's vital energy was too great to be refused.

In a quickly impulse coming from defense magic, Yennefer was able to raise both her body and Tissaia's to the surface. Immediately, she carries the archmistress on her arms and lay her down on the grass.

Yennefer did all the feasible things to save Tissaia – she used magic to remove excess water from her lungs and also removed the magic flower that now surprisingly no longer glowed and did not seem to want to open rivers to swallow people. And at least, the archmistress’ breathing had neutralized and her eyes slightly opened, Yennefer felt that she had gain again the ability to breathe solely because of her.

As soon as Tissaia had seen the pleading woman who had been overjoyed to see her become aware again, she smiled weakly and said:

“You are an stubborn, impulsive fool, Yennefer.”

The tension that had been broken from the confession they both made at the most critical moment of sharing together had brought out the same reaction for both. The urge to succumb to the real feelings that needed to rise to the surface.

Primal desire coiled in the deepest of her spirit, waking an uncontrollable revelation there. Instead of giving space to Tissaia to say anything else, Yennefer leaned over to kiss her fervently, and quite immediately she was reciprocated with a distinct ferocity.

Upon her, raindrops beyond shapes of shivers were spread through her body. Yennefer grasped Tissaia’s wet curls to adjust and intensify the depth of the kiss while Tissaia reached to hold her waistline.

And _oh_ , kissing Tissaia felt like the sun was rising in the morning inside of her. Light embodying her whole being as that tongue was circling her own. She tasted like every refulgent emotion Yennefer ever had, combined with the exquisite solace of every secret she had hidden being exposed.

The same moment that the storm seemed to cease, the air of both sorceresses began mutually to running out, which made them break the kiss only to keep their foreheads glued together while their bodies craved the eminent heat of each other.

“I'm not the only stubborn one around here.” Tenderly, Yennefer argued. Her hands were still locked in Tissaia’s hair, keeping her close to compensate the fear of losing her again. “But I believe that my stubbornness may had saved both of us.”

“I could feel it… The moment where I touch you without caring for my own survival was sufficient to collect the flower. Your life is not necessary, my sacrifice was. Now, she can be used for our purposes.”

As she finished to share the patterns she absorbed from the situation, the sensation of Tissaia’s fingers caressing her damp skin made her soften and melt under her touch.

“I’m deeply sorry for everything I put you through, darling.” Tissaia lamented in a breaking tone, but her bright eyes expressed such passionate tenderness that made Yennefer shiver. “I meant what I said before, I do love you.”

There was no room for forgiveness or guilt. There was only one pertinent feeling to declare, only one frequency to be manifested in its entirety.

“And I love you too, Tissaia. More than I possibly express in words, but hopefully, I was able to express it in actions.”

~

When the sun came up that time, Yennefer felt another source of heat aligned with her form. With arms and legs entwined in a soft embrace, the predominant smell of herbs and incense invaded her senses and made her full of vitality.

In the window of the cabin where they spent the first night of love together, resided the little skylark bird that they had saved together – and he was falling asleep gently like one of the women who rescued him.

When the violet eyes opened completely to the sight of Tissaia's body well settled against her, her slow and relaxed breathing brought an extraordinary peace in her lungs.

That was how Yennefer wanted to wake up every day. She wanted to be during all the passages of time along with her beloved archmistress. Whenever it being at a calm sunrise or a turbulent sunset, the important time was shared all her instants with Tissaia for as long heat keep her blazing body alive.


End file.
